Proflight Zambia, the operator of the largest fleet of aircraft in Zambia, has announced the introduction of a direct scheduled service between Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (LUN) in Lusaka and Kalabo Airport (KLB) in Kalabo in Zambia'sWestern Province. Commencing on 15 March 2017, the new route will be operated twice weekly from April - June and from October - December on Wednesday and Saturday mornings by a Cessna Caravan with a capacity of eight passengers.Kalabo is a small town and administrative district in the Western Province of Zambia, on the plains west of the Zambezi River and the Barotse Floodplain. It is located about 70km from the border with Angola and 70km from the capital of the Western Provice, Mongu. Kalabo is ideal for accessing Liuwa Plain National Park, the upper Zambezi and surrounding areas in Mongu.

Lusaka 08:15 > 10:45 Kalabo

Kalabo 11:05 > 13:35 Lusaka

Liuwa Plain National Park, which covers about 3660km², hosts the second largest (blue) wildebeest migration in Africa. The remote National Park is also home to other unusual antelope such as oribi, red lechwe, steinbuck, duiker, tsessebe and roan. Jackals, servals, wildcats, wild dogs as well as lions and hyenas are the predators of the Liuwa Plain National Park. The National Park also supports globally important bird populations, with at least more than 330 bird species recorded.

29 November 2016

South African National Parks (SANParks) in conjunction with the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has begun to demolish five redundant artificial water structures found in the northern and central areas of Kruger National Park as part of a long term rehabilitation program on 27 November 2016. The removal is planned to be finished by 09 December 2016. Explosives will be used to demolish these structures; after which the rubble will be removed and re-used as part of the rehabilitation process.

Structures scheduled for the operation include:

Sirheni Dam – it was breached by the 2012 floods and partially demolished in October 2015 but work was not completed

Langtoon Dam – in the Vlakteplaas Ranger Section, this was breached in 2008

Ngotso and Bangu Weirs – along the S89 and the old main road S90 in the Houtboschrand Ranger section

Gudzani north windmill located along the S90 and S41 roads also in the Houtboschrand Ranger Section

The following safety measures will be put in place during the operation:

The area around the targeted structures will be cleared to ensure animals and human are safe

All roads in the areas will also be temporarily closed

Working on Fire, SANDF and Ranger teams will be on standby to extinguish any wild fire that might arise

An aerial flight will be dispatched to the area immediately prior to detonation to ensure that no tourists may be in the vicinity of the targeted structure

Artificial water holes where water did not naturally occur have led
to numerous ecological problems such as erosion and other environmental
degradation. This also resulted in a negative consequence for the rare
herbivore species such as roan and sable antelope, increasing grazing
competition by the more abundant herbivores. Conservation management has
taken steps to rectify these negative consequences by closing and
demolishing certain artificial water holes. To enhance tourist
experience, alternative game viewing opportunities will be provided at
areas of naturally occurring surface water. [src.: SANParks]

28 November 2016

update (29 Nov 2016): Contrary to their posting on Facebook, Fastjet only suspended three and NOT four routes from 05 December 2016 - Dar es Salaam in Tanzania <> Entebbein Uganda, Dar es Salaam <> Nairobiin Kenya, as well as Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe <> Johannesburgin South Africa. Pan-African low-cost carrier fastjet is set to suspend four of its services from 05 December 2016. They are Johannesburg <> Victoria Falls, Dar es Salaam <> Entebbe, Kilimanjaro <> Entebbeand Dar es Salaam <> Nairobi.Passengers who have already booked and paid for affected flights will get refunded by Fastjet. Those on flights from Johannesburgto Victoria Falls will be offered an alternative routing via Harare.According to a statement by the airline, the suspended routes were not commercially viable due to low passenger demand and the inefficient use of aircraft. Fastjet also replied to a post by an affected passenger on facebook saying that "this suspension of the routes is part of our ongoing turnaround program in pursuit of long term sustainable financial structures for our businesses in Tanzania and Zimbabwe".

25 November 2016

According to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Namibiahas lost at least 47 rhinos to illegal poaching since January 2016. During the same period of time, at least 69 elephants got killed by poachers. These illegal killings mainly happened in the Zambezi region and the Kavango region, while most rhinos were poached in Etosha National Park.

Poachers have killed about 10% of Namibia's
rhinos in recent years - one rhino was recorded poached in 2011, two in
2012, four in 2013, 24 in 2014 and 127 in 2015. Out of the 201 rhinos
killed by poachers since 2011, 184 were black rhinos and 17 were white
rhinos. 137 black rhinos and eleven white rhinos were killed in Etosha National Park, 40 black rhinos got slaughtered in conservancies and six white rhinos as well as seven black rhinos on private land.

The flag carrier of Namibia, Air Namibia, is set to increase flights between Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) in Windhoek and Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Frankfurt. From 26 March 2017, the airline will operate seven flights per week instead of the current six flights per week to Frankfurt. Previously Air Namibia operated six flights per week from July to November each year and seven flights per week from December to June. This will change in March 2017 when the seven flights per week will become a year-round service.

The flag carrier of France, Air France, will extend the direct flight service between Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris and Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town from a seasonal offering (Northern summer only) to a year-round service. From 27 March 2017, the airline will operate three nonstop flights per week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays between the two cities. Cape Town will be served by an Airbus A330-200 with 40 seats in business class, 21 in premium economy and 147 in economy, and a Boeing 777-200 with 35 seats in business class, 24 in premium economy and 250 in economy class.

24 November 2016

Turkey's flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, will temporarily reduce its service between Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) in Istanbul and Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town during the Northern summer 2017. From 25 March 2017 until 28 October 2017, the airline will operate five weekly flights instead of the current seven weekly flights to Cape Town. Turkish Airlines will also plans to change the operational aircraft from an Airbus A330-300 to an Airbus A330-200 from 30 May 2017.

23 November 2016

update (24 Jan 2017):Sylvester, South Africa's most talked about lion, his coalition partner, the younger male he has been bonding with in the boma since May 2016 and in the 200hectares enclosure since November 2016, as well as the two lionesses the two lions had been in the enclosure with, have been succesfully released into the Kuzuko contractual area (15000hectares) in Addo Elephant National Park'.

South Africa's most famous lion was moved out of the holding boma in Addo Elephant National Park'sKuzuko contractual area into a larger 200ha enclosure. The lion, nicknamed "Sylvester", got relocated into the boma from Karoo National Park at the end of May 2016.Sylvester and his coalition partner, the younger male he's been bonding with in the boma since May 2016, joined up with the two females on the enclosure. According to South African National Parks (SANParks) spokesperson Fayroush Ludick, the decision to let the two male lions out was based on Addo Elephant National Park management's opinion that the two had settled and bonded sufficiently in order to start a new coalition and lead Kuzuko's pride in future. Addo Elephant National Park's management will monitor the situation over the next days and weeks, paying particular attention to their social interaction, before making a decision about when to release the four lions into the entire 15 000 hectares of Kuzuko.Sylvester gained popularity when he first escaped from Karoo National Park in June 2015, and managed to evade capture for over three weeks. He was then fitted with a combination satellite/VHF collar to find his location should he manage to get out again. This collar then alerted authorities on 28 March 2016 that the lion had once again left the park's boundary, and played a big role in tracking him and returning him back to the park much quicker – three days later on 31 March 2016.

22 November 2016

The flag carrier of Rwanda, Rwandair, is set to introduce a second flight between Kigali International Airport (KGL) in Kigaliand OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg on 16 January 2016. The new flight, which will be in addition to the current daily service, will be operated daily except for Tuesdays and Thursdays.

17 November 2016

The state-owned national flag carrier of Botswana, Air Botswana, has suspended scheduled flights between Gaborone and Harare (Zimbabwe) as well as between Gaboroneand Lusaka (Zambia) on 12 and 13 November 2016 respectivley. In addition, the airline canceled its Monday service between Gaboroneand Kasane on 14 November 2016. According to the press release, this rationalization is part of Air Botswana's"plans to enhance schedule integrity and improve customer experience without compromising the airline's commercial viability".

15 November 2016

South African carrier Kulula was named "Best Low Fare Carrier Middle East/Africa" for the third year in a row in AirlineRatings.com's 2017 Airline Excellence Awards. Congratulations, Kulula! The AirlineRatings.com Airline Excellence Awards program combines four major international industry and government audits, with another nine key criteria that include: fleet age, passenger review ratings, profitability, investment rating and key product offerings. Airlineratings is an Australia-based global airline rating agency. Kulula is a South African low-cost carrier owned by Comair, which also operates flights as a franchisee of British Airways. The arline operates domestic flights within South Africa and serves the following destinations: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and George. Through Kulula's codeshare agreement with Kenya Airways, the airline also offers flights to Nairobi (Kenya).

14 November 2016

According to an exclusive report by the Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit, South Africa'sMinister of State Security David Mahlobo is involved in illegal rhino horn trade. The reporters also discovered that members of the Chinese President's delegation went on an illegal spending spree in South Africa to buy ivory and rhino horn and smuggled the products back to China.

11 November 2016

update (15 November 2016): The "Allgemeine Zeitung" reports in today's online edition, that fuel (550 ppm only) is available again atEtosha'sOkaukuejo Camp.

According to Namibian newspaper "Allgemeine Zeitung", all three fuel stations inside Etosha National Park are currently out of fuel. The newspaper cites Namibia Wildlife Resorts' (NWR) spokesperson Mufaro Nesongano saying that problems with the fuel pumps at Okaukuejo Camp, Halali Camp and Namutoni Camp (all three camps are managed by NWR) caused the unavailability. Travellers visiting Etosha National Park are advised to refuel their vehicles in Outjo, Otavi or Tsumeb. [src.]

10 November 2016

update (22 Nov 2016): The new modern bus system in Windhoek("Move Windhoek") has been suspended with immediate effect due to "some operational challenges that the City is currently addressing".

The City of Windhoek is set to introduce a new modern bus system on 14 November 2016, which will replace the old bus routes (direct buses). The new bus system (Move Windhoek bus lines) will consist of 14 bus lines that will provide a frequent bus service between Windhoek's suburbs, such as Katutura, Goreagab, Havana, Okahandja Park, Kabila and Otjomuise, and the City Centre, as well as between the surrounding suburbs, such as Auasblick, Rocky Crest and others, and the City Centre. In addition, the City of Windhoek will also introduce local bus lines operating between Soweto Market and Wernhill Park, from Goreagab and Otjomuise and from Wernhill Park to Eros, Klein Windhoek and Avis as well as from Wernhill Park to Olympia, Suiderhof and Auasblick.During the transition period, officials will be at all key bus stops in Katutura during the morning hours to direct customers to the relevant busses. Customers can interchange from one bus line into another at Wernhill transit facility in Windhoek's City Centre without paying again; therefore customers are required to retain their receipts as proof of payment. (via City of Windhoek media briefing dated 28 October 2016)Tickets cost 6 NAD per person (cash) and 5 NAD per person if you are using the MoveWindhoek Smart Card.

The flag carrier of Ethiopia and currently the fastest growing airline in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines, is set to increase the flight frequency to Cape Town. Effective 01 December 2016, the airline will operate 10 weekly flights between its main hub at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) in Addis Ababa and Cape Town International Airport (CPT). Ethiopian Airlines currently flies to three cities in South Africa namely: Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The newly upgraded Victoria Falls International Airport (VFA), located about 20km south of the town of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, will be officially opened on 18 November 2016. The airport underwent massive modernization, renovation, and expansion works that took about 36 month. The upgrade of the airport was done in two phases:

Phase one:

construction of a new terminal building

construction of a new 4km runway

conversion of the existing 2.2km runway into a taxi way

construction of a new road network

construction of a new car park

construction of a new fire station

construction pf a new control tower

Phase two:

renovation and conversion of the old terminal building into a fully-fledged domestic terminal

Parts of Victoria Falls International Airport (VFA), such as the international terminal, the new runway and the new control tower became already operational in December 2016. The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) initially planned the offical commission the airport to take place in May 2016 (and before that at various dates in 2015), but had to postpone the date due to delays in construction. The work to upgrade Victoria Falls International Airport (VFA) began in 2013 and was financed through the ExIm Bank of China.

08 November 2016

Rwanda's national carrier, Rwandair, just confirmed on twitter that it is planning to introduce flights between Kigali International Airport (KGL) in Kigali and the USA in 2017. According to news reports in Rwanda, the airline will enter the US market with a route to New York. Rwandair also plans to acquire another Airbus A350 XWB wide-body plane for it's flights between Kigali and New York.

Rwandair currently operates flights to 19 destinations and is planning to launch services to London-Gatwick in the UK (in 2017), Mumbai in India, Conakry in Guinea, Bamako in Mali, as well as to Dakar in Senegal, Harare in Zimbabwe, Lilongwe in Malawi and Durban in South Africa.